Takeaways: Colorado State misses chance to grab Mountain West women's basketball lead from UNLV
A boisterous crowd showed up to Moby Arena for a Saturday matinee, and a battle for the Mountain West lead lived up to the billing.
But the Colorado State women's basketball team couldn't quite overcome slow starts to each half.
The visitors took advantage, as UNLV (19-2, 9-0 MW) stifled CSU's typically high-flying offense and put an iron grip on the league lead with a 63-58 win.
Here are four takeaways from the game:
A rare 'off night' for CSU's leader
It speaks to the level CSU senior guard McKenna Hofschild has played at all season that a 17-point, 7-assist game could be considered an off night.
But the Rams' All-American candidate at point guard had several open looks just miss finding the net, needing 18 shots to hit her point total while tying a season-worst with three turnovers.
"An off night, I would say," Hofschild said. "Those shots felt good and they’re shots I usually make and they just didn’t fall... I don’t think their game plan had much to do with it."
It was emblematic of CSU's offensive struggles across the board.
The Rams shot a season-low 36 percent from the field and struggled beyond the arc, going 7-of-29 for a 24 percent clip.
Cailyn Crocker did tie her season-high with 19 points - the last one also against UNLV - but she also needed 19 shots to do so. She and Hofschild were the only Rams to reach double figures.
"We played a little pressed," said CSU head coach Ryun Williams. "I don’t want to say we weren’t composed, but we weren’t composed enough. We let their extended soft press disrupt us."
Quick starts doom CSU
CSU often outplayed UNLV for large portions of the game.
It didn't matter, because the Rams were playing from behind nearly all day.
The Lady Rebels roared out of the locker room to start both halves, opening up a 14-5 lead in the first quarter and a 42-33 edge with a 6-0 run to begin the second half.
It gave UNLV breathing room to hold off a crowd of nearly 2,000 that was just waiting to put sustained pressure on the visitors.
"You just need a couple plays to go your way to get some momentum," Williams said. "The crowd was exceptional today. I wish we could have given them a good victory."
The Rams never had the ball within one possession during the final 20 minutes. CSU hung around, though, making UNLV hit free throws to seal it in the final minute.
CSU had trouble stopping UNLV guard Essence Booker, who posted a double-double with 25 points plus 10 rebounds and made several key free throws down the stretch.
"Booker was the difference for them," Williams said. "She had a big-time game."
Rams miss out on MW lead
CSU had a chance to grab a share of the league lead with a win.
Instead, UNLV now has the commanding edge.
The Lady Rebels are two games ahead of CSU, San Diego State and Wyoming in conference play, with road wins over all three plus a season sweep of the Rams and Cowgirls.
The Rams have been close to UNLV in all three recent meetings: Saturday's loss, an overtime road heartbreaker in December and a tight defeat in last season's tournament title game.
"To beat a team like Vegas, you have to assert your will," Williams said. "We played hard, but they needed to feel our intention more."
Williams said CSU has a "sore loser" mentality "in a good way," and Crocker said the focus will be on finishing strong with an eye on a postseason rematch.
"We’re going to see them again and I’m excited for that, but we have a lot of other games to get through and keep progressing first," she said.
Fight Like a Ram honors cancer patients
The game was a big one, but CSU was playing for far more than the league lead.
The now-annual UCHealth Fight Like a Ram tradition continued Saturday, as CSU players donned the last names of local cancer patients and survivors on the back of their jerseys.
"It’s emotional and just puts things into perspective really quickly," Hofschild said. "Things they’re battling and going through is inspiring, just for us to be part of something bigger than ourselves."
The day also included a halftime recognition for the 16 “cancer warriors.” An engaged Moby Arena crowd greeted them with loud cheers to begin and end the intermission.
The loudest came for Marilyn Votaw, house director of CSU’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house. Over 100 KKG sorority members packed into the student section for support and roared when her name was called.
The men's team will also host a game honoring local cancer warriors against Utah State on Saturday, Feb. 4.
It was an especially emotional day for Crocker well beyond the game's outcome.
"This was definitely a heavy game with everything around our cancer warriors," Crocker said. "My cancer warrior was in remission and I just found out it came back and she has 6 months to live.
"The game means so much just for her to see her name on the court. We came up short today, but we definitely gained a lot just getting to meet these people."
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Mountain West women's basketball: UNLV gets big road win at Colorado State
